Pneumatic Container and Paintball Gun Containing Same and Pneumatic Recharging System

ABSTRACT

A pneumatic container and a paintball gun containing same, and a pneumatic recharging system are provided. The provided pneumatic container is a quick rechargeable air cylinder for serving as an air source for paintball guns, which can be recharged quickly by connecting a larger carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) tank to the pneumatic inlet located on either lateral end of the cylinder or at the bottom end of the cylinder by an adapter with a remote line connector. The provided pneumatic container can also be used as an air expansion chamber when mounted to a paintball gun or marker.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a pneumatic container, a paintball gun containing same and a pneumatic recharging system for a paintball gun, and more particularly, to a gun-mountable pneumatic container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Paintball is a sport wherein a paintball gun or a marker is used to shoot spherical ball that contain non-toxic, washable paint. Players of the sport use this paintball gun to shoot their opponents with paint balls, to simulate war games and the likes. A paintball war game is generally played between two teams of players that try to capture the opposing team's flag. Each flag is located at the team's home base. Such a game is played on a large field with opposing home bases at each end. The players are each armed with a paintball gun that shoots paintballs.

A paintball gun in many respects operates similarly to a normal gun as it shoots a projectile. However, rather than using gun powder propellant typically used in a normal gun to fire a bullet or projectile out of a barrel, a paintball gun uses compressed gas to shoot the paint ball out of the barrel of the paintball gun. The compressed gas most often used is compressed carbon dioxide (CO₂). The compressed carbon dioxide is stored in a container/cylinder that is removably attached onto the paintball gun.

Most gun-mountable CO₂ containers or bottles are designed to be reusable. The CO₂ containers have different sizes and capacity. When empty, the gun-mountable CO₂ container has to be removed from the paintball gun to be refilled with carbon dioxide from a larger storage tank.

It is desirable to refill the empty gun-mountable CO₂ container without having to unmount the container from the paintball gun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a gun-mountable pneumatic container, which is designed for use with a paintball gun that allows carbon dioxide to be quickly inserted into the container with a quick detachable remote line connected to a larger storage tank without having to remove the container from the paintball gun.

In order to attain the above and other objectives, the present invention discloses a pneumatic container for a paintball gun, comprising a container body; a pneumatic outlet mounted on a first longitudinal end of the container body; and a pneumatic inlet mounted on at least one of a widthwise end of the container body and a second longitudinal end opposing the first longitudinal end.

Preferably, the pneumatic outlet comprises a receiving portion and an engaging element both mounted on an outer surface of the pneumatic outlet for being received by a pneumatic-receiving port of the paintball gun.

Preferably, the pneumatic container further comprises an O-ring received in the receiving portion, wherein the engaging element is a male thread.

Preferably, the pneumatic container further comprises a removable portion optionally received by the pneumatic inlet.

Preferably, the removable portion has a first engaging element on an outer surface thereof, the pneumatic inlet has a second engaging element on an inner surface thereof, and the removable portion is received by the pneumatic inlet by engaging the first and second engaging elements.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic recharging system for a paintball gun, comprising: a pneumatic container, a blocker; and an adaptor, wherein the pneumatic container comprises a pneumatic outlet connected to the paintball, and a pneumatic inlet differ from the pneumatic outlet in position; the adaptor has a first end for connecting a pneumatic tank, and one of the blocker and the adaptor is coupled to the pneumatic inlet at a time.

Preferably, the pneumatic outlet is mounted on a first longitudinal end of the pneumatic container, the pneumatic inlet is mounted on at least one of a widthwise end of the pneumatic container and a second longitudinal end opposing the first longitudinal end.

Preferably, the pneumatic outlet comprises a groove and male threads both mounted on an outer surface of the pneumatic outlet and an O-ring received in the groove for being connected to a pneumatic-receiving port of the paintball gun.

Preferably, the blocker has a first engaging element on an outer surface thereof, the pneumatic inlet has a second engaging element on an inner surface thereof, and the adaptor has a third engaging element on an outer surface at a second end opposing the first end thereof.

Preferably, the one of the blocker and the adaptor is connected to the pneumatic inlet by engaging one of the first and the third engaging elements with the second engaging element.

Preferably, the engaging elements are threads.

Preferably, the adaptor has a pathway passing therethrough and further comprises a pin valve contained in the pathway.

Preferably, the pin valve has a body, an enlarged semi-spherical head in comparison with the body, and an O-ring mounted on the body and next to the enlarged semi-spherical head, the pathway has a widen portion at the second end in comparison to that at the first end, and the O-ring is sized to fit within the widen portion.

Preferably, the pneumatic container further comprises a valve body, wherein the one of the blocker and the adaptor is coupled to the pneumatic inlet by the valve body.

Preferably, the blocker has a first engaging element on an outer surface thereof, the pneumatic inlet has a second engaging element on an inner surface thereof, the adaptor has a third engaging element on an outer surface at a second end opposing the first end thereof, the valve body has a first pathway passing therethrough, a protruding mounted at a first end thereof, and a fourth and a fifth engaging elements respectively on an inner surface at the first end of the valve body and an outer surface at an second end of the valve body, and the first pathway has a first widen portion at the first end of the valve body in comparison to that at the second end of the valve body, thus the one of the blocker and the adaptor is coupled to the pneumatic inlet by a first engaging of one of the first and the third engaging elements and the fourth engaging element and a second engaging of the second and the fifth engaging elements.

Preferably, the engaging elements are threads.

Preferably, the valve body further comprises a groove mounted on the outer surface thereof, and an O-ring received in the groove, where the groove is next to the fifth engaging element.

Preferably, the adaptor has a second pathway passing therethrough and further comprises a pin valve contained in the second pathway.

Preferably, the pin valve has a body, an enlarged semi-spherical head in comparison with the body, and an O-ring mounted on the body and next to the enlarged semi-spherical head, the second pathway has a second widen portion at the second end of the adaptor in comparison to that at the first end of the adaptor, and the O-ring is sized to fit within the second widen portion.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide paintball gun comprising the above-mentioned pneumatic container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic explosive diagram showing a cross-sectional view of a pneumatic container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic explosive diagram showing a cross-sectional view of a pneumatic recharging system for a paintball gun according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic explosive diagram showing a cross-sectional view of a pneumatic recharging system for a paintball gun according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a paintball gun containing a pneumatic container of FIG. 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following illustrative embodiments are provided to illustrate the disclosure of the present invention, these and other advantages and effects can be apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the disclosure of this specification. The present invention can also be performed or applied by other different embodiments. The details of the specification may be on the basis of different points and applications, and numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As show in FIG. 1, the pneumatic container 1 has the container body 10, the pneumatic outlet 11 and the pneumatic inlet 12, and a removable portion 13. The pneumatic outlet 11 is disposed at the top end 101 of the container body 10, and the pneumatic inlet 12 is disposed on the lateral end 102 of the container body 10 as the pneumatic container 1 is upright positioned. The pneumatic outlet 11 includes male threads 111, the groove 112, and the O-ring 113 on the outer surface 114 thereof, and is sized and positioned for being received by female threads of a gas-receiving port (not shown) of a paintball gun or a marker (not shown). Thus, the compressed air or gas contained in the pneumatic container 1 could be provided to the paintball gun or the marker by the pneumatic outlet 11. The distally disposed O-ring 113 is sized and configured to fit within the groove 112 for helping to seal the pneumatic container 1 within the gas receiving port of the paintball gun to prevent gas from leaking out of the gas receiving port of the paintball gun.

The pneumatic inlet 12 has female threads 121 on the inner surface 122 thereof and the removable portion 13 has male threads 131 on the outer surface 132 thereof, and the female threads 121 male threads 131 are enable to engaging with each other. Thus, when the pneumatic container 1 need to be recharged, the removable portion 13 is removed from the pneumatic inlet 12 for allowing the recharging of the compressed gas or air into the pneumatic container 1 through the pneumatic inlet 12 without disengaging the pneumatic container 1 from the paintball gun. Accordingly, when the recharging is done, the removable portion 13 is received in the pneumatic inlet 12 by engaging female threads 121 male threads 131 for seal and contained the compressed air/gas in the pneumatic container 1.

Although it is not illustrate in FIG. 1, the pneumatic inlet 12 could also be disposed on the bottom end 103 rather than the lateral end 102 of the container body 10, or could be disposed on both of the bottom end 103 and the lateral end 102.

Alternatively, other engaging elements, such as rubber stoppers, for the above engagings could be applied in the present inversion.

Please refer to FIG. 2, a schematic exploded diagram for a pneumatic recharging system for a paintball gun according to a preferred embodiment of the present application is provided. As show in FIG. 2, the pneumatic recharging system 2 for a paintball gun or a marker (not shown) has the pneumatic container 20, one adaptor 21 and one blocker 22. In practical, the pneumatic recharging system 2 should have two adaptors 21 and two blockers 22, nevertheless, only one adaptor 21 and one blocker 22 are shown in FIG. 2 for simplifying the description.

The pneumatic container 20 has a pneumatic outlet 201 to be connected to the paintball gun on the top end 202 thereof, and two pneumatic inlets 203 respectively on the lateral end 204 and the bottom end 205 thereof. The pneumatic outlet 11 includes male threads 2011, the groove 2012, and the O-ring 2013 on the outer surface 2014 thereof, and is sized and positioned for being received by female threads of a gas-receiving port (not shown) of the paintball gun. Thus, the compressed air or gas contained in the pneumatic container 20 could be provided to the paintball gun or the marker by the pneumatic outlet 201. The distally disposed O-ring 2013 is sized and configured to fit within the groove 2012 for helping to seal the pneumatic container 20 within the gas receiving port of the paintball gun to prevent gas from leaking out of the gas receiving port of the paintball gun.

Each of the pneumatic inlets 203 has female threads 2031 on the inner surface 2032 thereof for coupling to either one of the blocker 22 and the adaptor 21 at a time. The blocker 22 has male threads 221 on the outer surface 222 thereof. The adaptor 21 has a first end 21 a to be connected with an external pneumatic tank (not shown) for receiving gas/air from the external pneumatic tank, male threads 211 on the outer surface 212 at a second end 21 b thereof, a pathway 213 passing therethrough and a pin valve 214 contained in the pathway 213. The pin valve 214 has the body 2141, the enlarged semi-spherical head 2142 in comparison with the body 2141, and the O-ring 2143 mounted on the body 2141 and next to the enlarged semi-spherical head 2142. The pathway 213 has the widen portion 2131 at the second end 21 b in comparison to that at the first end 21 a. The O-ring is sized to fit within the widen portion 2131 to help sealing the pin valve 214 within the adapter 21 to prevent gas from leaking out of the passageway 213. The body 2141 is sized to fit within the pathway 213.

The adaptor 21 could be a unidirectional fill port adapter and further comprises the exposed band 215 and the groove 216 that are sized and positioned to be received by the female end (not shown) of an external remote adapter (not shown). The pin valve 214 is axially movable within the passageway 213, to allow air or gas to flow through the air passageway 213 when the pin valve 214 and the O-ring 2143 is pushed by the high pressed air or gas out of the widen portion 2131, to allow air or gas to enter the pneumatic container 20.

The pneumatic inlet 203 on the lateral side 204 is coupled with the blocker 22 by engaging the female threads 2031 thereof with the male threads 221, and the pneumatic inlet 203 on the bottom side 205 is coupled with the adaptor 21 by engaging the female threads 2031 thereof with the male threads 221 for showing the recharging of gas/air from the pneumatic inlet 203 at the bottom side.

Alternatively, the gas/air could be recharged from the pneumatic inlet 203 on the lateral side 204 by coupling the adaptor 21 and the blocker to the pneumatic inlet 203 on the lateral side 204 and the bottom side 205 respectively. Alternatively, the gas/air could be recharged from the pneumatic inlets 203 on both the lateral side 204 and the bottom side 205 by coupling two adaptors 21 to the two pneumatic inlets 203. Since the gas/ air is recharged into the pneumatic container 20 from the gas inlet 203 being differ from the gas outlet to be contacted to the paintball gun in position, the recharging system 2 could recharge gas/air without disengaging the pneumatic container 20 from the paintball gun.

Please refer to FIG. 3, a schematic exploded diagram for a pneumatic recharging system for a paintball gun according to another preferred embodiment of the present application is provided. The pneumatic recharging system 3 is similar to the pneumatic recharging system 2 shown in FIG. 2. The pneumatic recharging system 3 further comprises the valve body 31, and one of the blocker 32 and the adaptor 33 is coupled to the pneumatic inlet 34 by the valve body 31, while either one of the blocker 22 and the adaptor 21 of the pneumatic recharging system 2 is directly coupled to the pneumatic inlet 203 shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the valve body 31 has a pathway 311 passing therethrough, a protruding 312 mounted at a first end 31 a thereof, and the male threads 313 and female threads 314 on the inner surface 315 at the first end 31 a of the valve body 31 and the outer surface 316 at the second end 31 b of the valve body 31, and the pathway 311 has a widen portion 317 at the first end 31 a of the valve body 31 in comparison to that at the second end 31 b of the valve body 31, thus the one of the blocker 32 and the adaptor 33 is coupled to the pneumatic inlet 34 by a first engaging of one of the male threads 321 and 331 with the 314 female threads 314 and a second engaging of the male threads 313 with the female threads 341. In addition, the valve body 31 further comprises a groove 318 mounted on the outer surface 316 thereof, and the O-ring 319 received in the groove 318, where the groove 318 is next to the male threads 313 of the valve body 31. The O-ring 319 is provided for helping to seal the valve body 31 within the pneumatic container 35 to prevent gas from leaking out of the pneumatic container 35. The passageway 311 has a smaller diameter than that of the semi-spherical head of the pin valve 332 to prevent the pin valve 33 from being forced into the pneumatic container 35

As shown in FIG. 4, a paintball gun 4 comprising a gun body 41 and the pneumatic container 42 is provided, where the pneumatic container 42 is the same as the pneumatic container 1.

The above-described descriptions of the detailed embodiments are only to illustrate the preferred implementation according to the present invention, and it is not to limit the scope of the present invention, Accordingly, all modifications and variations completed by those with ordinary skill in the art should fall within the scope of present invention defined by the appended claims. 

1. A pneumatic container for a paintball gun, comprising: a container body; a pneumatic outlet mounted on a first longitudinal end of the container body; and a pneumatic inlet mounted on at least one of a widthwise end of the container body and a second longitudinal end opposing the first longitudinal end.
 2. The pneumatic container of claim 1, wherein the pneumatic outlet comprises a receiving portion and an engaging element both mounted on an outer surface of the pneumatic outlet for being received by a pneumatic-receiving port of the paintball gun.
 3. The pneumatic container of claim 2, further comprising an O-ring received in the receiving portion, wherein the engaging element is a male thread.
 4. The pneumatic container of claim 1, further comprising a removable portion optionally received by the pneumatic inlet.
 5. The pneumatic container of claim 4, wherein the removable portion has a first engaging element on an outer surface thereof, the pneumatic inlet has a second engaging element on an inner surface thereof, and the removable portion is received by the pneumatic inlet by engaging the first and second engaging elements.
 6. A pneumatic recharging system for a paintball gun, comprising: a pneumatic container comprising: a pneumatic outlet to be connected with the paintball; and a pneumatic inlet differ from the pneumatic outlet; a blocker; and an adaptor having a first end to be connected with an external pneumatic tank, wherein one of the blocker and the adaptor is coupled to the pneumatic inlet at a time.
 7. The pneumatic recharging system of claim 6, wherein the pneumatic outlet is mounted on a first longitudinal end of the pneumatic container, the pneumatic inlet is mounted on at least one of a widthwise end of the pneumatic container and a second longitudinal end opposing the first longitudinal end.
 8. The pneumatic recharging system of claim 6, the pneumatic outlet comprises a groove and male threads both mounted on an outer surface of the pneumatic outlet and an O-ring received in the groove for being connected to a pneumatic-receiving port of the paintball gun.
 9. The pneumatic container of claim 6, wherein the blocker has a first engaging element on an outer surface thereof, the pneumatic inlet has a second engaging element on an inner surface thereof, and the adaptor has a third engaging element on an outer surface at a second end opposing the first end thereof.
 10. The pneumatic container of claim 9, wherein one of the blocker and the adaptor is connected to the pneumatic inlet by engaging one of the first and the third engaging elements with the second engaging element.
 11. The pneumatic container of claim 9, wherein the engaging elements are threads.
 12. The pneumatic container of claim 6, wherein the adaptor has a pathway passing therethrough and further comprises a pin valve contained in the pathway.
 13. The pneumatic container of claim 12, wherein the pin valve has a body, an enlarged semi-spherical head in comparison with the body, and an O-ring mounted on the body and next to the enlarged semi-spherical head, the pathway has a widen portion at the second end in comparison to that at the first end, and the O-ring is sized to fit within the widen portion.
 14. The pneumatic container of claim 6, further comprising a valve body, wherein the one of the blocker and the adaptor is coupled to the pneumatic inlet by the valve body.
 15. The pneumatic container of claim 14, wherein the blocker has a first engaging element on an outer surface thereof, the pneumatic inlet has a second engaging element on an inner surface thereof, the adaptor has a third engaging element on an outer surface at a second end opposing the first end thereof, the valve body has a first pathway passing therethrough, a protruding mounted at a first end thereof, and a fourth and a fifth engaging elements respectively on an inner surface at the first end of the valve body and an outer surface at an second end of the valve body, and the first pathway has a first widen portion at the first end of the valve body in comparison to that at the second end of the valve body, thus the one of the blocker and the adaptor is coupled to the pneumatic inlet by a first engaging of one of the first and the third engaging elements and the fourth engaging element and a second engaging of the second and the fifth engaging elements.
 16. The pneumatic container of claim 15, wherein the engaging elements are threads.
 17. The pneumatic container of claim 15, wherein the valve body further comprises a groove mounted on the outer surface thereof, and an O-ring received in the groove, where the groove is next to the fifth engaging element.
 18. The pneumatic container of claim 14, wherein the adaptor has a second pathway passing therethrough and further comprises a pin valve contained in the second pathway.
 19. The pneumatic container of claim 15, wherein the pin valve has a body, an enlarged semi-spherical head in comparison with the body, and an O-ring mounted on the body and next to the enlarged semi-spherical head, the second pathway has a second widen portion at the second end of the adaptor in comparison to that at the first end of the adaptor, and the O-ring is sized to fit within the second widen portion.
 20. A paintball gun comprising the pneumatic container as claimed in claim
 1. 